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This classroom pack from Bare Conductive provides you with everything you need to teach and engage up to 30 participants of any age the basics of circuits and electricity through the use of electrically conductive paint and crafts. This pack contains everything you need to lead a group ofstudents or friends through an activity to create a simple circuit using Electric Paint. Participants will be introduced to circuit symbols, component polarity and have the opportunity to attach a LED and coin cell battery to bring their own blinking robot greeting card to life!
Bare Conductive's Electric Paint is just like any other water-based paint... except that it's electrically conductive! This means that you can actually paint wires onto things like models, clothes, furniture, walls, almost anything you can think of and in this case, greeting cards. Standard acrylic or water-based paints can even be used alongside Electric Paint to act as insulation or to create multi-layer circuitry.
Note: Electric Paint is not meant for use on skin! Electric Paint is not waterproof, but depending on what your application is you can paint over it with a waterproof paint or varnish. On the bright side this does make for easy cleanup.
Note: Due to the requirements of shipping the batteries in this kit, orders may take longer to process and therefore do not qualify for same-day shipping. Additionally, these batteries can not be shipped via Ground or Economy methods to Alaska or Hawaii. Sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
The paint in the pens can take anywhere from 5-20 minutes to dry on paper, depending on relative humidity.
Whether it's for assembling a kit, hacking an enclosure, or creating your own parts; the DIY skill is all about knowing how to use tools and the techniques associated with them.
Skill Level: Rookie - Basic hand tools are required and instructions will allow more freedom. You may need to make your own decisions on design. If sewing is required, it will be free-form.
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If it requires power, you need to know how much, what all the pins do, and how to hook it up. You may need to reference datasheets, schematics, and know the ins and outs of electronics.
Skill Level: Rookie - You may be required to know a bit more about the component, such as orientation, or how to hook it up, in addition to power requirements. You will need to understand polarized components.
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We welcome your comments and suggestions below. However, if you are looking for solutions to technical questions please see our Technical Assistance page.
Based on 3 ratings:
We originally planned some STEM activities for children of co-workers. When HR decided it was inappropriate to have kids in the office, we decided to put these together ourselves. We had a lot of fun!
A couple of things to keep in mind.
1. The conductive paint gets EVERYWHERE. It's comes off with water but it was difficult to keep it off our clothes.
2. You have to put the paint on pretty thick in order for this to work. Because of this, it takes forever to dry and also see number 1.
3. Some of the batteries were actually not working. That was a bit of a bummer but we had enough to go around so it was okay for us. If you plan to use all 30 cards, you may want to get more batteries. This is why the rating 4 and not 5 stars.
4. You can do a lot of cool things by actually putting the conductive paint on the back of the card and rigging up multiple bulbs - so yeah, buy some extra bulbs too.
5. I think kids 7+ would really enjoy this activity. Teenagers may enjoy it but get some extra materials so they can take things up a level.
I did this with a group of 2nd graders today. We did 18 different cards. Not a single one worked. Before I did it with my class, I tried it at home. It took me several tries to get the paint to light up the card. It is messy and takes a long time to dry. The paint just doesn't conduct well enough to make the lights work unless you are a perfect artist. I have a bunch of disappointed 2nd graders on my hands.
I'm so sorry to hear this. Please contact us for support - https://www.sparkfun.com/returns
these are really cool but I had to have my kids put the paint down then bend the leads and tape them on top after letting the paint dry for a good 15 minutes. I had sketchy results putting the leads through the paper. Worked great the other way.
You guy's should make a 5 pen version! (only 50$)